🔥 Trending Last 32 World Cup Fixtures: Your Guide to the Knockout Stage

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature a new format with 48 teams, leading to a Round of 32 for the first time in the tournament's history ⁴. This means that after the group stage, 32 teams will advance to the knockout rounds ¹.

While the full list of fixtures will only be finalized once the group stage concludes, some matchups have been confirmed or are highly anticipated based on early results and projections. The Round of 32 is scheduled to take place from June 28 to July 3, 2026 ¹⁵⁶.

Some of the confirmed or highly likely Round of 32 matches include:

• South Africa vs. Canada ²
• Brazil vs. Japan ²
• Germany vs. Paraguay ²
• Netherlands vs. Morocco ²

These matches represent just a few of the 16 contests that will determine which teams advance to the Round of 16 ⁷. Football fans can expect an exciting series of knockout games as the tournament progresses towards the final on July 19 ¹.